Snapshot of History
by AbCarter
Summary: Sometimes history doesn't need a push, it needs a step ladder. One shot.


_I wrote this little niblet a while ago after a trip I had made to Leiden on a beautiful fall day. I was in a park with a rather unusual statue, and the inscription inspired me to write this. This short story is supposed to become part of a longer story, but chapter four of that is simply refusing to be written. I, however, did not want to withhold this little one any longer. I hope you enjoy and your comments, encouragements and offers to become my chapter four sparing partner are welcome._

-oOo-

Bogg and Jeffrey landed on the quay of a small canal.

"This close and we would have been in it." Jeffrey wiped his hand across his forehead to wipe away the imaginary sweat. "Just a thought, but HQ really should be doing something about the locations where the omni drops us off."

"What are you complaining about? We're not in the water, we're by the side of it." His friend threw him a look while he scrambled up.

"Where are we anyway? Venice?" Jeffrey looked around. Well, probably not Venice. They were there once, briefly, and he remembered the houses looking different, and standing closer to the water.

"Not even close." Bogg checked the omni. "The Netherlands, We're in Leiden, 1862, any thoughts?"

"So, we're in Holland." He stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded thoughtfully. Holland, land of ... Of blue skies, green dykes, and little boys who stuck their thumb in it. Although that latter story was made up by an American woman.

"They prefer the Netherlands," Bogg corrected him, remembering a girl that got less than friendly when she explained the difference: The Netherlands is the country, Holland is just a part of it.

"Okay, The Ne-ther-lands." Jeffrey shrugged, some people are so sensitive. "1862, doesn't ring a bell. Leiden. Rembrandt was born here, but that was in 1606."

"Rembrandt, that name sounds familiar. What did he do?" Bogg hung the omni on his belt. Time to fill a few of those gaps in his history knowledge.

"Paint. Most famous Dutch painter of the 17th century. He painted the Nightwatch."

"I think I've seen that. It's in the Louvre, right?"

"If it is, that would explain the red light."

"Hmm, we'll list that as one of the options. Any other suggestions?"

"I told you. 1862 doesn't ring a bell. Some of the Pilgrim Fathers stayed in Leiden for a few years before they boarded the Mayflower and set sail for America. That was also in the 17th century."

"You're not helping, kid."

"C'mon, gimme a break. Whatever happened in Leiden in 1862 is probably so obscure it's not in any history book anyway."

"The omni knows about it, so it's important. C'mon, let's go for a walk. Maybe we'll see something."

They strolled along the canal, crossed a bridge and just wandered around, looking for, hoping for, any clue that could jog Jeffrey's memory. It was early in the morning and there was not much life in the town yet. Then they heard a crashing sound, followed by the shouting of men. Bogg and Jeffrey rushed over to see what was going on. They found a group of men, one of which was sitting on the ground rubbing a sore elbow. From the coherency of his speech it was quite clear he was drunk.

"I'm not climbing back up there, Kiek. You're a mad man," the man on the ground shouted.

"You just completely ruined this picture," the man addressed as Kiek shouted back. While removing a sheet of film from the tripod photocamera he mubbled about drunk students waking him at all hours to have their picture taken. "Everybody else was standing still. You had to wobble. It's your own fault you lost your balance and fell. I told you to stand still."

"That's easy for you to say, Kiek. You are standing on firm ground. I was standing on a small ledge with just enough room for one foot. I'd like to see you try that. I'm not an acrobat." The man scrambled up. "I'm leaving, before I break my neck."

"You can't leave, Steen. What about our picture?" Steen's friends jumped in front of him and tried to stop him from leaving.

"You will just have to find another idiot." Steen dusted off his boulder hat and put it on. "Maybe he's willing to risk his life for a lousy picture." He nodded his head to Bogg. The friends looked Bogg over.

"Are you an acrobat?" one of them asked.

"I've dabbled with it. I used to stand my ground in the rigging," Bogg replied. The man frowned his eyebrows, then turned to Steen.

"Give this man your hat and coat." Steen, who realized he was off the hook for getting back onto the ledge, was quick to hand over his possessions to Bogg. Bogg took them and put the hat on.

"So, what is it you want me to do?"

"I want to take a picture of a four man tower. One man sitting on the ground, one man behind him on the chair. And two men on the ladder. Since you have experience with climbing high altitudes I suggest you take the top position; these other gentlemen can take the positions closer to the ground. So they won't hurt themselves as much when they lose their balance."

"All right. You load the camera and I'll get on that ladder." Bogg put on and buttoned the coat.

"Er, Bogg." Jeffrey tugged at his sleeve. "Perhaps you should give me the omni, in case you fall and accidentaly trigger it. I wouldn't feel comfortable if you had to voyage somewhere while badly wounded."

"Very funny, kid, haha." Bogg rubbed the kid's hair, but gave him the omni. Then he helped the other men put up the ladder and climbed it so he was towering all of them. The others got into position too. Steen folded his arms.

"This'll be interesting," he said to Jeffrey. "If your Dad is not a very good acrobat you should close your eyes now, 'cause he could make a nasty fall."

Kiek finished preparing the camera. "All right, men. Stand still and smile, I'm exposing the film ... Now." He removed the lense cap. He counted the seconds and replaced the lense cap. "That's it, gentlemen. Your picture has been taken." Kiek removed the film from the camera to develop it. Bogg got down from the ladder and returned the hat and coat to Steen. Steen on his part congratulated Bogg on his bravery. Bogg received the praize with a smile, then turned to Jeffrey and led him back into the street with a hand on his shoulder. Jeffrey meanwhile opened the omni to see if looking at the date triggered something in his memory.

"Hey, Bogg. Why didn't you tell me we had a green light here, in stead of letting me drum up all my knowledge on Leiden history?"

"We had a red light when we came here. The problem must have sorted itself out." Bogg took the omni from the young man's hand. "Which means that now we can return to our original assignment."

"I still believe we should just leave that as it is," Jeffrey said. His body language spoke obstruction.

"What you believe is of no importance. It's what you know that counts. And you know it's wrong." Bogg set the dials on the omni.

"Do you know who many people die each year because of innercity air pollution?" Jeffrey tried to reason.

Bogg gave him a look. "You know very well that Voyagers set straight what is historically right, not necessarily what is morally right."

"I know that." Jeffrey made a face. "But still, sometimes ..."

"We're not the UN," Bogg cut in. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, coming," Jeffrey said with little enthousiasm and grabbed Bogg's arm. Bogg pressed the activation button and they were off again, traveling through time and space.

-oOo-

_A/N: Israel David Kiek, 1811-1899, photographer from Leiden. His name is immortalized in the word _kiekje_, the Dutch word for snapshot. Kiekpark in Leiden has a statue of a tripod camera in his honor. If you look into the camera you can see a picture of a four man tower.  
_


End file.
